Nebraska-Omaha forward Bill Thomas has signed an entry level NHL contract with the Phoenix Coyotes, General Manager Michael Barnett announced today. In keeping with club policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Thomas will forego his final two years of eligibility and report to Phoenix immediately. Thomas recently completed his sophomore season with … Read more
Nebraska-Omaha’s first-ever NCAA tournament appearance owes much to the Mike Kemp, the only head coach UNO has ever had. Paula C. Weston reports.
Bizarro World Last week I mentioned there was perfect symmetry for the start of the second half of conference play as the travel partners squared off coincidentally giving us the match ups of 1st vs. 8th, 2nd vs. 7th, and so on. With that symmetry, one would have expected some of the outcomes to be … Read more
Sophomore defenseman Joe Grimaldi has left the UNO Mavericks in order to play major junior hockey for the Ottawa 67s in the Ontario Hockey League, UNO coach Mike Kemp announced today. Grimaldi, a native of Long Island, N.Y., had no goals and four assists and 51 penalty minutes in 19 games this season for the … Read more
History isn’t really about the past, settling old scores. It’s about defining the present and who we are. — Ken Burns Three summers ago, the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks were rocked by a number of departures. Both players and coaches left unexpectedly, some just before the beginning of the new season. Last year, after spending the 2003-04 … Read more
Nebraska-Omaha goaltender Chris Holt has decided to forego his junior year of eligibility with the Mavericks to sign a professional contract with the New York Rangers. “We are very excited for Chris,” UNO head coach Mike Kemp said. “Having guys like Chris Holt mature and develop in our program is very gratifying. We wish him … Read more
Northern Michigan senior goaltender Tuomas Tarkki became the first Wildcat in 24 years to be named the CCHA Player of the Year. Eight individual honors were awarded Wednesday at Detroit’s historic Fox Theatre, including six determined by a vote of the league’s 12 coaches. NMU’s Tuomas Tarkki became the first European to win CCHA Player … Read more
Nebraska-Omaha was the doormat of the CCHA a year ago, but now the Mavericks are knocking on heaven’s door, thanks to new talent.
In a league that graduated a large class at the end of the 2003-04 season, the Mavericks are an anomaly with 20 veterans on the roster for the upcoming campaign. While that can be a positive — experience, maturity — these are the same Mavericks responsible for last year’s last-place finish. The kindest way to … Read more
Nebraska-Omaha athletic director Bob Danenhauer announced his resignation Wednesday after seven years on the job. The resignation is effective Oct. 29. Danenhauer, a Nebrask-Omaha graduate, is leaving UNO to become the Coordinator of Athletics and Supervisor of Physical Education for the Omaha Public Schools system. “I will always love my alma mater, UNO,” Danenhauer said. … Read more
Magness Arena, [nl]Denver, Dec. 27-28 Yale vs. Nebraska-Omaha, 4:05 MT Saturday Niagara at Denver, 7:05 MT Saturday Consolation, 4:05 MT Sunday Championship, 7:05 MT Sunday Television: Denver games on Fox Sports Rocky Mountain (DirecTV Ch. 645). No. 5 Denver (11-6-3) Players to Watch: F Gabe Gauthier, Soph. (8-19–27); F Connor James, Sr. (6-14–20); G Adam … Read more
The city of Omaha welcomes college hockey to its brand-new $291 million building, the Qwest Center. The building was christened with the Maverick Stampede, one of the top-notch early-season tournaments.
The 2002-03 season was something of a disappointment for the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks. Picked to finish fifth in both the coaches and media preseason CCHA polls, the Mavs finished 10th and ended their season with two quick losses to Ohio State in the opening round of league playoffs. “Certainly, we underachieved last year tremendously,” says head … Read more
Two stars of the CCHA have decided to forgoe their remaining years of eligibility to sign contracts with NHL teams. Nebraska-Omaha goaltender Dan Ellis has decided to forego his senior year of eligibility with the Mavericks to sign a professional contract with the Dallas Stars while Ohio State forward Ryan Kesler has decided to forgoe … Read more
Nebraska-Omaha says goodbye to a building that’s treated it well in the program’s fledgling years.
The NCAA Ice Hockey Committee has ruled that the Maverick Stampede semifinal game between Colgate and Nebraska-Omaha on Oct. 11 is officially a tie and that only the statistics for the first 65 minutes of play will count. The game in question was played with a five-minute overtime, followed by a 20-minute period when the … Read more
No, not Britney. Another in-season tournament. This time, it was the otherwise great Maverick Stampede that botched the overtime rules.
No one is looking forward to the start of the 2002-03 season more than Mike Kemp. When the season begins, after all, the offseason is officially over. “It’s been an interesting summer for us in Omaha,” said Kemp. “We started out the summer with seven surgeries — four knees, three shoulders — added two new … Read more
II. I was of three minds,Like a rinkIn which there are three Mavericks. Two consecutive trips to the CCHA championship tourney in their first two years of league membership — do you think anyone is underestimating these Mavericks now? While UNO graduated a large senior class that included the last of the “original Mavericks,” the … Read more
When Paula C. Weston headed out to Omaha, Neb., for the Mavericks-Buckeyes CCHA series, she got more than she bargained for. Follow USCHO.com’s CCHA correspondent through one of the Midwest’s hidden jewels.